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TV show highlights Manchester murder probe from 1999

MANCHESTER - The circumstances around the murder of a Manchester woman 14 years ago and police efforts to solve the crime were featured Tuesday night in a dramatic retelling on a national cable network.

Capt. Mark Putney, Lt. James Soucy and retired Sgt. Scott Fuller were interviewed for a segment of "Nightmare Next Door" on Investigation Discovery Channel that detailed their investigation into the grisly 1999 murder of Mary Stetson by Vaclav Plch.

Police found Stetson's torso in the Piscataquog River July 20, 1999. Her head and limbs were missing, but police were able to identify her by a tattoo on the back of her right shoulder, according to the show.

The program dramatized several men as being possible suspects, including a man who stood her up for a date, a stranger at a bar, a shopkeeper, a "missing Czech," and an "angry drifter" named "Slim."

The investigation eventually led to Plch, the man identified as the "missing Czech," who was arrested later in 1999 in Austin, Texas, the show concluded in the hour-long episode.

Plch was convicted of first-degree murder and is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.